West, Texas recovering year after deadly blast

April 17, 2014: Residents of the small Texas town of West are honoring the past but looking ahead on the one-year anniversary of a fertilizer plant explosion that killed 15 people. Phil Archer reports.

THAT POOL WAS DRAINED. THANKFULLY NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED AND NO CAUSE. A SOMBER ANNIVERSARY IN WEST FAMILIES CONTINUE TO PICK UP THE PIECES ONE YEAR AFTER THE DEVASTATING EXPLOSION AT THAT FERTILIZER PLANT. THE ENORMOUS EXPLOSION CLAIMED 15 LIVES. "LOCAL 2'S" PHIL ARCHER IS LIVE IN WEST WITH HOW RESIDENTS ARE GOING TO MARK THIS ANNIVERSARY AT THE EXACT TIME OF THE BLAST. PHIL. Reporter: WEST HAD MADE A GOOD START TOWARD REBUILDING BUT THERE ARE PLENTY OF PHYSICAL SCARS, INCLUDING THE SPOT WHERE THE HIGH SCHOOL USED TO STAND. EMOTIONAL SCARS. THAT IS WHAT THE REMEMBRANCE IS ABOUT. THIS WAS MY PARKING SPOT. BEFORE THE BLAST ALICIA LIVED HERE WITH HER 2-YEAR-OLD AND 4-YEAR-OLDS. SHE CAME HOME AFTER 3 400 TONS OF AMMONIUM NITRATE EXPLODED. I GOT TO THE ENTRANCE IS WHEN I SEEN MY 4-YEAR-OLD DRAGGING MY 2-YEAR-OLD DOWN THE STAIRS. THE THOUGHT STILL BRINGS TEARS TO HER EYES. FOR MANY WHO LIVED THROUGH IT, THE MEMORY IS RAW. SHE AND HER BOYS SURVIVED BUT 15 DIED, MOST FIRE FIGHTERS. MEN THAT THE MAYOR SERVED WITH AS A VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTER. YOU DON'T EVER GET OVER IT. YOU KNOW, I STILL -- I MEAN, I STILL RIGHT NOW, YOU SAY THAT. I SEE CODY AND HIS LITTLE SMILE. I SEE JOEY WITH HIS DIMPLE. Reporter: ABOUT 70 NEW HOUSES HAVE GONE UP IN THE LAST YEAR TO REPLACE THE 130 THAT WERE DESTROYED. I THINK THIS IS HOUSE NUMBER EIGHT WE HAVE BUILT IN WEST. I GUESS WE'RE GOING TO KEEP GOING. THERE IS STILL A LOT OF REBUILDING. THE UNIONS WERE CLEARED AWAY LONG AGO, BUT THE MEMORIES REMAIN. WE WILL BE OKAY. IT WILL TAKE A LONG TIME. I SAID IT IS A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT. THAT WILL TAKE A WHILE. Reporter: THE MAYOR WAS ASKED AT THAT PRESS CONFERENCE WHAT HE THINKS THE NEXT BILL CHALLENGE WILL BE. HE SAID WILL IT BE PROVIDING ALL THE HELP AND THERAPY FOR RESIDENTS SUFFERING FROM POST-TRAUMATIC SHOCK. THE MEMORIAL THAT BEGINS IN TWO HOURS IS PART OF THAT PROCESS. LIVE FROM WEST, PHIL ARCHER, KPRC "LOCAL 2". THANK YOU, PHIL. OUR COVERAGE OF THE TEXAS PLANT EXPLOSION ONE YEAR LATER CONTINUES ON WWW.CLICK2HOUSTON.COM. AT THE TOP OF OUR HOME PAGE YOU WILL FIND A SPECIAL

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